Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) Receives C$43.14 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Empire Company Limited (TSE:EMP.A) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$43.14.

EMP.A has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Empire from C$40.00 to C$43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Empire from C$38.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Empire from C$40.00 to C$47.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. National Bankshares increased their target price on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$46.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Desjardins increased their target price on shares of Empire from C$42.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$36.32, for a total transaction of C$108,960.00. In other Empire news, Senior Officer Douglas Bigler Nathanson sold 3,658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$40.26, for a total transaction of C$147,252.79. Also, Senior Officer Pierre St-Laurent sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$36.32, for a total transaction of C$108,960.00. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,269 shares of company stock worth $788,772. Corporate insiders own 2.17% of the company’s stock.

Empire Stock Up 0.5 %

Empire stock opened at C$41.18 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of C$38.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$35.26. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03, a P/E/G ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 135.51, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.79. Empire has a one year low of C$31.45 and a one year high of C$41.48.

Empire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Empire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.20%.

Empire Company Profile

Empire Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the food retail and related real estate businesses in Canada. It operates through two segments, Food Retailing, and Investments and Other Operations. The company owns, affiliates, and franchises approximately 1,500 retail stores under various retail banners, including Sobeys, Safeway, IGA, Foodland, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, and Lawtons Drugs; and approximately 350 retail fuel locations.